This website provides information on the tricolored blackbird (Agelaius tricolor), a near-endemic California passerine and the most colonial songbird in North America. We seek to develop a site with content appropriate for the largest audience, with basic natural history and conservation information, access to reports, images and videos, links to tricolors in the news, summaries of past and current research and monitoring efforts, and data entry capability for participants in the triennial tricolored blackbird survey (an every three year volunteer effort to estimate the number of tricolors in California) and persons observing color-banded tricolors.

Over 25,000 Tricolors Banded in 3 Years

Tricolored blackbirds are being banded as part of a statewide effort to identify and document movement patterns and fidelity to breeding colonies. The banding of tricolors began in 2007 and has continued annually, with over 25,000 tricolors banded by autumn, 2009. The recapture of banded birds has demonstrated strong fidelity to breeding sites and a high degree of colony cohesion, with birds breeding together at one location tending to move as a group to breed together again a different location.

Unfortunately, two birds banded in 2008 were shot and killed by a rice farmer in Butte County and turned in to U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service staff. The severity of the threat posed by the shooting of breeding and post-breeding birds is unknown and requires further study.

Water Flows to Holiday Lake

The Los Angeles County Department of Public Works provided a letter to the West Valley County Water District Board of Directors, informing the District that the County does not believe the existing Drought Ordinance applies to Holiday Lake. Therefore, the County of Los Angeles does not intend to take any action against the District to prevent the operation of the recreational facilities at Holiday Lake as an enforcement of the Ordinance. In a recent Board meeting, the District, after much debate, decided not to adopt the Ordinance. This decision supersedes the order to cease pumping made by the Board President last January, thus allowing water to again flow into Holiday Lake. With the return of water deliveries, it is hoped that the largest tricolored blackbird colony in Los Angeles County in 2008 will be active this year.

Emergency Ordinance Threatens Largest Breeding Colony of Tricolored Blackbirds in Los Angeles County

In October, 2008, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors approved Ordinance No. 2008-00052U, Water Conservation Requirements for the Unincorporated Los Angeles County Area.

According to West Valley County Water District President Mr. John Gaglione, due to this Ordinance, WVCWD is no longer able to pump water into Holiday Lake, and Holiday Lake will be allowed to dry up.

Holiday Lake is located in the Antelope Valley, in the community of Holiday Valley. Many birds and other wildlife species make Holiday Lake their home and the largest breeding colony of tricolored blackbirds in Los Angeles County in 2008 (according to the results of the 2008 Statewide Tricolored Blackbird Survey) occurred at Holiday Lake.

Report Observations of Color-banded Tricolors

Tricolored blackbirds have been banded in 2007 and 2008. As of August, 2008, a total of just under 7,000 tricolors has been banded. Most of the banded birds (nearly all adults) have received both USGS aluminum bands as well as two color bands, one color indicating year, and the other indicating site of banding. The Tricolored Blackbird Portal now enables you to enter records of observations ("resightings") of color-banded birds.

Resightings of color-banded tricolored blackbirds enable investigators to document spatial and temporal patterns of tricolor movements and we urge you to record your observations of color-banded tricolors here:

2008 Tricolored Blackbird Statewide Survey Results

From 25 - 27 April, 2008 over 145 volunteer observers participated in the 2008 Tricolored Blackbird Statewide Survey. Survey participants searched for breeding colonies and aggregations of birds in 35 counties, from San Diego county in the south to Shasta county in the north. As expected, the largest colonies were found in the San Joaquin Valley, with Kern, Tulare, and Merced counties accounting for 314,936 of the total of 395,321 (79.7%) birds seen. The 2008 results compare favorably with recent Survey results (200,000 birds in 2000, 260,000 birds in 2005).

Syndicate content